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Sentences that didn’t make sense 5 years ago: “Excuse me while I Yahoo my TiVo.”

By Brian | November 7, 2005 | Share on Facebook

I’ve been wondering out loud for many years about why no one’s built a VCR or other recording device that can be programmed remotely (either via telephone or internet). It seems Yahoo and TiVo have finally gotten the job done:

TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq:TIVO – news) and Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO – news) on Monday launched a service that allows TiVo users to program their digital video recorders remotely using Yahoo’s television information Web sites.

I’m not a TiVo user, but if this catches on, I’m sure the other DVR providers (I use Comcast’s) will follow suit relatively quickly for fear of losing subscribers. So now, when I expected to be home in time to watch <fill in favorite mindless TV entertainment vehicle here>, but find myself stuck in traffic, working late, or whatever, I can pop over to my web browser (or my blackberry, or my PDA) and tell the DVR to tape the show I’m now going to miss.

Still more evidence that we were all born at exactly the right time…

Topics: Tech Talk, The Future is Now | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Sentences that didn’t make sense 5 years ago: “Excuse me while I Yahoo my TiVo.””

  1. Mike Starr says at November 7th, 2005 at 9:23 pm :
    Yes, very cool feature indeed. Actually a competitor (ReplayTV) has offered a similar feature for a while now.

    Now if I already had a DVR (I don’t like those monthly fees), I might ask Hanukkah Harry to bring me a Slingbox…

  2. Michael Weinmayr says at November 8th, 2005 at 11:10 am :
    TiVo has actually had this service for years, on their own website (https://www3.tivo.com/tivo-tco/index.do). The only difference is that the TiVo name now shows up prominently on Yahoo. Marketing, not innovation, but anything that extends the power and life of TiVo is a good thing. Have Sherry talk to Jen or Courtney on this, and you will buy one.

  3. Brian says at November 9th, 2005 at 12:01 am :
    Wow…who knew?

    I’m not sure whether I’m happy or sad that this has been around for a while, because it means it really hasn’t caught on like I thought it would. Still the same, I’m looking forward to having it as an option.

    Re: Tivo – technology tends to enter our house in stages. The Comcast DVR is the precursor to TiVo. Sherry & I are now at the “can’t live without it” point, so TiVo is a possibility, but I’ve got two issues:

    1) TiVo requires a big cash outlay, whereas Comcast is $10/month. What is the big advantage of TiVo over Comcast DVR that makes it worth the switch? (that’s me asking, not Sherry)

    2) TiVo (at least last I heard) requires a phone connection to get the program chart each night, while Comcast DVR gets it in real time over the existing coax cable. My den is laid out such that the only way to get a phone wire to the TV would be with one of those wireless phone jacks. Again, my question: why would I switch now?

    I stand ready to be convinced…

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